And as Richardson presides over Perry’s case, he is also asking for Texans’ votes.

Perry had entered a plea of not guilty in response to an indictment on two felony charges alleging abuse of power, and he was in the Northeast speaking to conservative groups. The counts are a first-degree felony of abuse of official capacity, punishable by five to 99 years in prison, and coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.

The 58-year-old Richardson spoke from the bench to a group of reporters who normally don’t fill his courtroom. He took several questions about the schedule for the day and how the attorneys would meet with him. Perry’s attorney later announced after a closed-door meeting that he would file motions to have the charges dismissed.

Meanwhile, Richardson planned to hit the campaign trail Monday as he vies for a place on the top criminal justice court in the state, the Court of Criminal Appeals.

He won against a Republican primary challenger from San Angelo and faces Democrat John Granberg, an El Paso attorney who wants to further immigration education for those in the judicial system, and Houston attorney Mark Bennett of the Libertarian Party.

Asked if he could comment on Perry’s assertion that the indictment charges are political in nature, Richardson offered a short answer: “No. … I think you have to ask the lawyers.”

Outside the courtroom, Richardson stays busy. To campaign he talks to political groups and newspapers about getting endorsements, but he doesn’t have large events or rallies. His political budget generally goes to rental cars and gas money as he travels the state, he said.

For his opponent, the attention Richardson is getting isn’t exactly a blessing.

“Gosh, it’s just my luck that my opponent may draw national attention due to the special prosecution,” Granberg said Tuesday. He followed up by saying, “I’m hard-pressed to say whether it would be good or bad for him.”

PERMEATED WITH POLITICS

The complaint against Perry came from the liberal-leaning watchdog group Texans for Public Justice, the same group that sparked U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s indictment and case that is under appeal.

The Open Society Foundations, founded and chaired by Democratic billionaire supporter George Soros, gave funding to the group, although the organization occasionally has filed complaints against Democrats, Executive Director Craig McDonald told Scripps.

The complaint itself concerned Perry’s threat to veto funding for the public integrity unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, which looks into state government corruption, motor fuels tax fraud and insurance fraud. Perry was going to veto $7.5 million because Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving charge and was unruly during custody, and her belligerence was caught on camera.

Perry did deny the funds and Lehmberg is still district attorney, but Texans for Public Justice’s complaint carried on, protesting the threat before the veto, not the veto itself.

The Texas Democratic Party believes that Perry had sinister motives for the veto, wanting to protect at least friends from an investigation into a cancer research fund. Perry’s legal team got an affidavit from a former investigator saying Perry and his staff had never been targeted in the investigation. Perry would have also appointed Lehmberg’s successor, had she resigned.

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office opted not to take on the Perry case and passed it on to another, 390th District Judge Julie Kocurek, a Democrat. She passed the case on to Republican District Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield, who presides over the Austin region, and Stubblefield selected Richardson as the judge to tend to the complaint. Richardson then chose the special prosecutor, Michael McCrum.

McCrum has had bipartisan respect. He served as a federal prosecutor under George H.W. Bush’s administration and was considered as a possible President Barack Obama nominee for U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas in 2010, with support from Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, although he withdrew his own name from consideration, according to news reports at the time.

McCrum declined to comment on his own career, even whether he had held certain offices, but he did say that politics aren’t a factor in the case.

“The evidence supports the charge,” McCrum said. “I know that Mr. Perry wants to paint a picture of political motivation, but that’s ridiculous.”

Shortly after

the indictments, Perry did charge hard on the idea that the charges are political warfare. The right-leaning group Media Trackers noted that one grand juror in the Perry case stayed active as a Democratic Party delegate during proceedings.

“I wholeheartedly and unequivocally stand behind my veto and will continue to defend this lawful action of my executive authority as governor,” Perry said. “We don’t settle political differences with indictments in this country. It is outrageous that some would use partisan political theatrics to rip away at the very fabric of our state’s constitution.”

Texas Tech associate professor of political science Seth McKee sympathized with Perry, if only because of the first complaint came from Texans for Public Justice.

“It strikes me as purely political,” McKee said. “Is it hardball politics to target (Lehmberg) like that, sure. ... Whether it’s the threat of the actual follow-through of the veto, it’s pretty clear why he did what he did. ... If these are the ends he is trying to get to ... then maybe these means are justified when he is allowed to exercise a veto.”

The case is among the largest stories in Texas politics, and Perry seems to be building up for a presidential run with trips to primary state battlegrounds such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Perry turned himself in for booking before a crowd of mostly supporters, many detractors and swarms of media.

“We will prevail,” he said at his booking amid chants of “Perry! Perry! Perry!” intermingled with “boos.”

The running judge

As for Richardson’s political and judicial aspirations, he may not carry on as judge should the case go to trial if he wins and takes office Jan 1.

In the event of a trial, which McCrum doesn’t think would happen until next year, Stubblefield could appoint a new judge to the case should Richardson win his election, said Brenda Wilburn, a contact with Stubblefield’s Third Administrative Judicial Region. A visiting judge is allowed to decline a case should there be a conflict of interest or scheduling problem. Wilburn said.

In the meantime, Richardson is still campaigning. Among groups supporting him during the primaries were the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, a Scripps newspaper; The Conservative Republicans of Texas; and the tea party Grassroots America We the People.

“I think it would’ve been preferable to have someone who was not on the November ballot,” said JoAnn Fleming, executive director of Grassroots America We the People.

Even so, she said, “I have every reason to believe that based on Mr. Richardson’s conduct and reputation ... that he will do a good and honorable job with this.”

Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, which filed the complaint, said Tuesday that he hadn’t realized Richardson was running for office, but he said the Republicans who have taken on the case “have shown an unbelievable degree of seriousness and integrity.” Richardson got an appointment in 1999 to the 379th District in Bexar County from then-Gov. George W. Bush, and he served until losing re-election in 2008 against Democrat Ron Rangel. He also served as an assistant district attorney in Bexar County for 10 years. Richardson was raised in a military family, traveling with his fighter pilot father. An avid runner, Richardson lives with his wife and son in San Antonio.

In his campaign video, a drive-by shooting victim tears up talking about her ordeal and thanks Richardson for his help and guidance through the legal process.

In the Republican primary elections this year, he won against San Angelo State District Judge Barbara Walther with 60 percent of the vote, largely campaigning on his experience.

Richardson had about $6,000 cash on hand in the latest campaign finance report available online, Granberg had about $600 and Bennett had none.

Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson said it’s hard in general to have a system in which judges have to run for office.

“It’s a little awkward in the sense that Texas, along with many other states, has a partisan election of their state judges,” Jillson said. “They’ve got to do fundraising, they’ve got to develop campaign platforms and broad policy programs to put to the electorate.”

Jillson surmised that Richardson is “unlikely to be the judge that presides over any trial” if Richardson gets elected and goes to office Jan. 1.

However, Jillson said Richardson might be the judge who makes the decision on a motion to throw out the case.

“It’s conceivable that he could dismiss the case,” Jillson said. “Or more conceivable that he could find the facts are sufficiently supportive of the charges.”

Matthew Waller covers state news as the Scripps Austin Bureau chief. Contact him at matthew.waller@scripps.com, or follow him on Twitter @waller_matthew.

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